Endotracheal tube adapter



Nov. 17, 1959 A. J. BARSKY ENDOTRACHEAL TUBE ADAPTER Filed June 4, 1958INVENTOR United States Patent This invention relates to an improvementin endotracheal tube adapters used in connecting an endotracheal I tubeto an anesthesia machine.

In many types of surgery it is not possible to use a nasal mask foradministration of the anesthesia because the mask would cover and makeinaccessible the portion of the mouth, nose, face, throat or other areato be operated upon. In such operations it is, therefore, the practiceto introduce an endotracheal tube through the mouth and into the tracheaor windpipe of the lung and to administer the anesthesia through thistube. In this manner the-patients face, mouth, nose and throat are notobstructed and may be operated upon.

In many types of surgery, however, the endotracheal tube and the adapterwith which it is connected with the anesthesia machine will pull uponand distort the patients mouth and face, so that the surgeon inattempting to restore the mouth and face to the normal appearance duringthe operation must contend with and allow for these distortions, and itbecomes very diflicult to restore the patients face to its exactappearance prior to the operation.

It is one of the objects of this invntion to provide an endotrachealtube adapter which will reduce distortion of the patients mouth and faceto a minimum during an operation under anesthesia.

Another object of the invention is to provide an endotracheal tubeadapter for connecting an endotracheal tube with an anesthesia machinewhich will permit a suction tube to be readily inserted through theendotracheal tube, for the purpose of withdrawing mucus, blood or otherfluids from the lung cavity during the operation and which will permitready reconnection of the lung cavity with the anesthesia machine afterthe said fluids have been withdrawn.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent as this description proceeds.

Referring now to thedrawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment ofthe invention,

Fig. 1 is a sectional view illustrating an endotracheal tube insertedthrough the mouth, throat and pharynx and into the lung cavity, with myadapter connected to the endotracheal tube.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the teeth and lips of the patient showingone end of my adapter projecting between the patients teeth.

Fig. 3 is a detailed view showing the suction tube opening in theadapter.

In the drawings the endotracheal tube 1, which is usually a soft rubbertube, is illustrated as passing through the mouth 2 and pharynx 3 andinto the trachea or windpipe 4 of the patient. The adapter 5constituting the present invention is a rigid tube, preferably metal,shaped somewhat like a question mark, which projects into the end 6 ofthe endotracheal tube 1, and at its other end is provided with aconnection point 7 for connection with a tube 8 leading to theanesthesia machine. The connection joint 7 is ordinarily a groundtelescoping slip ice joint connection by which the endotracheal tubeadapter may be readily connected to and disconnected from the anesthesiamachine by merely pulling the parts of ground connection apart orpushing them together.

As illustrated more clearly in Fig. 2 the upper end 5a of the adapter 5projects into the end 6 of the endotracheal tube 1 far enough to extendbeyond the patients teeth 9 so that in the event the patient shouldclose his month during the operation he will not collapse or bite offthe endotracheal tube.

A short distance from the end 5a the adapter 5 is provided with a flange10 and with a screw threaded portion 11 adapted to receive a screwthreaded collar 12 which normally is screwed tightly on the threadedportion 11 as illustrated in Fig. 1 when anesthesia is beingadministered. The threaded portion 11 and the screw threaded interior ofthe collar 12 may each be given a slight taper or frustro-conical, shapeso that the further the collar 12 is screwed on to the threaded portion11 the tighter the fit.

A hole 13 is provided through the screw threaded portion 11 leading tothe interior of the adapter 5. As

illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 the hole 13 passes diagonally through thewall of the screw threaded portion 11 and slopes in the direction of theend of the adapter 5 which is connected with the endotracheal tube 1.This slope facilitates the insertion of a suction tube 14 through thewall of the adapter 5 and through the endotracheal tube 1 into thewindpipe or trachea for the purpose of with drawing mucus, blood orother fluids which may accumulate therein during the operation. Theouter end of the tube 14 may be connected with a suction apparatus andthe tube 14 is preferably formed of a flexible transparent plasticmaterial such as polyethylene, so that the surgeon may observe throughthe transparent walls of the tube the nature and amount of the fluidsbeing withdrawn and in this way judge whether there is excessivebleeding or other complications occurring.

The suction tube 14 may be inserted and withdrawn and fluids removedfrom the lung cavity several times during an operation, if desired,without materially interfering with the administration of the anesthesiaor with the patients normal breathing during periods when the anesthesiais not being administered. To insert the suction tube 14 the collar 12is unscrewed from the threaded portion 11 to expose the. hole 13 and thetube 14 is inserted through the hole 13. When the fluids have beenremoved the tube is withdrawn and the collar 12 again screwed on theportion 11 to seal the hole 13 and permit air tight communicationbetween the endotracheal tube 1 and the'anesthesia machine.

The flange 10 prevents the collar 12 from moving beyond the upper end ofthe adapter 5 and the enlarged connection joint 7 prevents the collar 12from sliding off the lower end of the adapter 5 so that the collar 12can never be misplaced or lost. Other means for retaining the collar 12permanently on the adapter 5 may be used, such as the flange 12a on thecollar. The collar 12 is preferably made of the same metal as theadapter tube 5, such as steel, copper, aluminum or the like, however,the collar 12 may, if desired, be made of nylon or other syntheticmaterials and screw threaded on the inside as illustrated. While a screwthreaded connection between the collar 12 and the portion 11 of theadapter is preferred, a telescoping slip joint connection may be used.The screw threaded connection, however, results in less movement of theadapter 5 when the hole 13 is being uncovered or closed and is,therefore, preferable.

The method of using the adapter is readily apparent from the descriptionand drawings. During administration of the anesthesia and during normalbreathing the adapter is used to connect the outer end of the endohole13, the suction tube 14 is inserted and the fluids removed. Aftertheusuction tube 14 is removed the collar 12' isagain screwed on :theportion 11 to close the hole 13 and administration of anesthesia ornormal breathing through the anesthesia machine may be resumed. As thetube 14 is of much smaller diameter than the endotracheal tube 1 thepatient may inhale and exhale air even while the tube 14 is being used.During an operation the anesthetist may hold the rigid tube in suchposition that there is no distortion of the patients mouth or lips. Thetube 5 is of sutfcient length that the anesthetists hand holding thetube will not interferewith the surgeon in the operation.

It will be understood that different size endotracheal tubes anddifferent size adapters are used with different size patients, and thatother modifications and changes may be made from the specific embodimentillustrated without departing from the spirit of my invention or thescope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. An endotracheal tube adapter for connecting an endotracheal tube withan anesthesia machine comprising a rigid curved tube, means on one endof said adapter tube for connection with an endotracheal tube, means onthe other end of said adapter tube for connection with an anesthesiamachine, said adapter having an opening through the wall thereof throughwhich a suction tube may be passed, and means to cover and uncover saidopening.

2. ,An endotracheal tube adapter for connecting an endotracheal tubewith an anesthesia machine comprising a rigid curved tube, means on oneend of said adapter tube for connection with an endotracheal tube, means.on the other end of said adapter for connection with an anesthesiamachine, a threaded section on said adapter tube, said adapter tubehaving a hole through said thread- 4 ed section, an internally threadedcollar adapted to screw on and off said threaded section to cover anduncover said hole and means to retain said threaded collar on saidadapter tube.

3. An endotracheal tube adapter for connecting an endortracheal tubewith an anesthesia machine comprising a rigid curved tube, means on oneend of said adapter tube to extend into an endotracheal tube, a slipjoint connection on the other end of said adapter tube for connectionwith an anesthesia machine, said adapter tube having an opening throughthe wall of the tube through which a suction tube may bepassed into theinterior of the adapter tube and the endotracheal tube, means to coverand uncover said opening and means to movably retain said covering anduncovering means secured to said adapter tube.

4. An endotracheal tube adapter for connecting an endotracheal tube withan anesthesia machine comprising a rigid curved metal tube, means-on oneend of said adapter tube to extend into an endotracheal tube, means onthe other end of said adapter for'connection with an anesthesia machine,a threaded section on said adapter tube, said adapter tube having a holethrough said threaded section into the interior of said adapter tubethrough which a suction tube may be inserted .into and removed from theadapter tube and the endotracheal tube, an internally threaded collaradapted to .screw on and rod said threaded section to cover and uncoversaid hole and means to retain said threaded collar on said adapter tube.

OTHER REFERENCES Hodges, R. J. et aL: The Lancet, Ian. 7, 1956 (page 26required). (Copy in 128-351.)

